Broken Blades and Rusted Hearts
by Tallace
Summary: Kajou, a ordinary gamer, finds himself tossed into the world of SAO, hoping for an amazing gaming experience, but instead he finds the worst thing he could imagine...Getting trapped inside a game where there are no 'extra lives'. will Kajou and his friends survive and reach the top floor of Aincrad, only one way to tell. Warning:Contains Violence, Swearing, and sexual themes.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online in any way, shape or form, such as plot, characters, and locations...If I did I wouldn't have been forced to bawl my eyes out when Sachi died... :'(  
>Ehem, but I do own my OCs, which are essentially all that I own, nothing more.<p>

Um...Hey guys, this is my first post on a site, so I guess this is technically my first official fanfiction. I can promise you that this won't be perfect by any means, especially coming from someone like me, but please, if you spot any flaws I would appreciate it if you leave constructive criticism because I need it to improve.

I hope you enjoy, i'll see you at the bottom of the page.

""=Speech

**=Thought

[]=Digital Speech/Descriptions

However, some monologues won't have an indicator, mainly because their fairly obvious.

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><p>I sighed as I stared out my bedroom window, the sky was a light grey, completely occupied by clouds, blocking out any other color yet letting light through them, brightening this otherwise dull world. I watched as a flock of birds passed overhead, they were heading south, which wasn't really surprising since it was rather cold around this location.<p>

I groaned as I looked at the clock on my wall, I had been expecting a call for about an hour now and I could feel my patience slowly slipping away, "Where the hell are you Yoshiki, we were supposed to be playing SAO an hour ago..." I stated to myself.

I looked towards the northern wall of my room, a mirror hung from the wall...Staring back at me was a young man with pale skin, he was basically a skeleton in terms of build, he wasn't tall but he wasn't short, he had long brown hair, his bangs were pulled back behind his ears, revealing his large forehead, he had sideburns that were more like mutton-chops, he had dull, hazel eyes that didn't particularly have anything to them, and sitting on the edge of his nose were a pair of black, rectangular glasses. He wore a dark green, wool shirt with short sleeves, black pants with two grey lines that ran up the sides, white socks, and black tennis shoes.

That was me, no shit, huh? anyway, my name is Kajou Junichiro, your everyday gamer...Sort of...You see, i'm also into anime, drawing, writing, and sculpting, which apparently makes me a nerd...Oh well, I wear that with pride because it's what divides me from the others.

Now, you may be wondering why I was waiting for a friend to call just to play a game, well the reasoning is the fact that this was the game that sold 10,000 copies, yes, I was talking about the VR MMORPG that everyone was after...SAO, or Sword Art Online...Yes, we finally had a Virtual Reality MMO!...But there was one thing that kinda lowered my score for the game already.

...It was an RPG without magic...

Now...Magic was my go to, it was my absolute favorite in every RPG ever...So this damaged my anticipation sharply. Personal bias aside I wasn't about to let one major flaw deter me from getting into a game I never thought would exist, and that's precisely why I needed to wait for my friend to call, so we could create our characters and join in at the same time, it would make finding each other considerably easier.

I looked over to my bed where the 'controller' sat, a blue, helmet-like device...That was the NerveGear, essentially you put it on your head after selecting the game and give a vocal command to start it up, it intercepts your brains signals and uses them to not only send you into the game but give you complete control over your avatar's body, meanwhile your actual body sits there in real life, in a state similar to sleeping, not mimicking your movements, which was good, especially if you had plenty of windows and had them open while playing...

[Ring-Ring-Ring! Pick up ya' phone ya' basta'd!]

I blinked as I looked over to my cellphone, surely enough it was the call I had been waiting for. I flipped it open and lifted it to my ear in one solid motion, "Yoshiki, your late..." I stated in a blank tone, holding back the sheer unamusement.

A carefree tone responded from the other end, "Hey, not everyone already picked up their copy." he stated, "Your lucky you got that group of oddballs backin' ya', the rest of us got lines to stand in!"

I rolled my eyes, a smile coming to my face, "Come on, you needed a lesson in patience anyway."

I heard a chuckle on the other end, "Yeah, that's why I took my time getting back home." my smile dropped instantly as my right eyebrow twitched, "Come on, you needed a lesson in patience anyway."

I blinked, "Why can you always flip everything I say, seriously, I just can't win with you!" I growled.

Laughter erupted from the other side, "Chill out, we doin' this or not?"

I looked over to the NerveGear on my bed, I leapt from my chair onto the comfy mattress, landing with a thud. I layed on my back ad kicked up my feet, a grin on my face, "Of course we are, and when we're done we're dragging the others to the store and making them get their own!" I stated, putting the NerveGear on my head.

"Then let's do it, see ya' there!" and just like that he hung up, I placed my phone on the desk next to my bed and layed flat.

I stared up at my ceiling, eagerness rising as I stated the activation command, "Link Start!"

And like that everything went white before a series of colored 'tubes' flew towards ad past me, soon afterwords a set of five circular icons, each with a 'sense', flew at my face before zooming back out after being confirmed. They slid their different ways as they faded to green and a language selection menu opened, Japanese was selected instantly and I entered my Username: Yugure, which I assume was my in-game name as well, I then entered my password.

After confirming my account it scrolled to the character creator, which I will save you some time by just skipping to the end result. My character looked sort of like me but not a complete skeleton, my skin was still pale, my brown hair was still long but my bangs were free, essentially covering a majority of my face accept my right eye and everything below it, I didn't have glasses, I still had sideburns because they're awesome, and instead of modern attire my avatar had a light, grayish-blue chestplate over a brown, leather tunic, the pants, gauntlets, and boots were basically the same color scheme, they were also not really worth describing given how painfully average they were...But I also had a belt which was meant to accommodate a sheath, everyone in this game likely started out as swordsmen after all considering there wasn't a job system.

Anyway, I was soon face-to-face with a grey screen [Welcome to Sword Art Online!], the rather bland screen was then assaulted by streams of blue that ripped through it and flooded my vision before everything went white...I slowly opened my eyes, letting them adjust now that the visual onslaught was complete...

I found myself standing in the center of the Town Square, surrounded by...Are you crazy, I won't even try to estimate that many people...But more importantly there was one specific guy that was standing to my right.

The guy was relatively better off than I was, his skin was a brighter shade of white, he had a better build, his hair was short and blond, his bands were a mess, some fell right above his eyes while others stuck out, his eyes were a bright grey, they shined with a type of energy that one wold expect from a defiant gamer challenging this new experience, aside from that he had a wide grin, his canines bared. What he wore was essentially the same thing as me with incredibly minor differences and a different color scheme...Thanks starting gear...Anyway, his stuff was essentially mine if you replaced the grayish-blue with orange, and brown with dark red...

The second I layed eyes on this fellow he turned to face me completely, his grin never fading, "Took you long enough!" he stated, "How did you take so long creating a character that looks just like you?"

I shot him a serious look, "Do you know how hard it is to find sideburns in a character creation menu, especially one that makes the characters all anime-styled with 'perfect' appearances?"

Yoshiki nodded, "Good point..." he looked around, his smile turning more fox-like, "but hey, that just means better ladies, right?"

I stared at him blankly, "Down boy, half of them are probably dudes anyway..." a sad truth, but it's not like he was going to find anyone willing to put up with him regardless.

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><p>I glared at the boar as I got into position, in my right hand was a cutlass, a beginner level one though, I had purchased it with the money we had been provided at the start of the game. Yoshiki and I had essentially bought our weapons, met with a beta tester, and decided to leave the city and grind...Or at least get a feel for the game, and by now after exploring the town the sky was a bright orange.<p>

I can't say that I was completely sure what i was doing, the only experience I had in holding a sword was the wooden swords laying around the house, not only that but there was an actual weight to the weapon...Thanks virtual reality. I watched carefully as the boar-like creature charged at me, I held my breathe as I waited for it to get close until it was a few inches away, I quickly slid to my right, riding the side of it's attack before swinging the blade down, slashing the boar across the side.

It wasn't enough to kill it, I dropped it's health from green to red. The angered boar hopped a little to turn a little faster in the air, before I knew it the monster charged once again, "Heh, using a boar as a beginning level monster?" I asked myself quietly as I drew my arm back, blade still in the boar's direction, I could feel a rush of energy in my arm as the blade was shrouded in a black light, "Either way, it's just that, a beginner monster!"

With this I stabbed the blade forward, lunging at the charging beast, luckily with my skill's attack priority I charged right through the beast, clipping through it's body without taking any damage from it's tusks. I turned to see the creature glow blue before exploding into data, effectively leaving nothing behind. I smiled a little, glad to see that you could avoid taking damage here if you just kept mobile, instead of making you stand there and take the hit you were able to move freely, keeping your hit box relatively safe...I guess this made up for the whole 'no magic' thing...

"Gah!" I turned around to so Yoshiki's avatar get knocked to the ground, his health in the red.

I blinked, "Are you fucking serious?" I asked, a perfectly blank expression on my face, "Please tell me that you aren't trying to tank...At level one..."

Yoshiki shakily got up, a frown on his face, "'Course not, I was tryin' to parry!" he stated. he was holding a longsword, the weapon that he had picked out, He waited for the boar to get closer as it charged again, this time he brought the blade against the boar's horns, his weapon flashing a bright orange, as the beast got knocked backwards, "See, that's what I was tryin' to do!"

The boar quickly came back at him, in his over confidence Yoshiki went for an overhead swing, this ended up failing miserably as the boar leapt up, tackling him in the chest. I groaned as his avatar flew through the air, eventually exploding into data, just like the monsters did.

I sighed as I pinched the bridge of my nose, "Dammit, come on Yoshiki, getting beaten this early in?" I noticed that the weakened boar was now glaring at me, I smirked as I got back into combat position, "This is how it's done!"

following the same logic as before I activated my only sword skill, which was essentially a charge. just as before I slashed through the center of the lesser monster and kept going, the weakened boar wasn't capable of surviving the strike and exploded just as the others had.

I chuckled as I looked back toward where the boar had been, "Well, I guess i should go fi-...Huh?" my train of thought stopped when I noticed something that I must have missed...Yoshiki wasn't in my party anymore. I blinked, my eyebrow raised, "What the...shouldn't there have been a notification or something?"

I put my index and pointer fingers together and scrolled down through the air in front of me, the menu appeared at this gesture, i looked through it to see that not only was my party empty but my friend list was empty...I blinked again, confused by this.

"Huh, did he rage quit or something?" I asked myself, "shouldn't he still be on my friend list though, he should just be offline if that's the case..." before I had a chance to ponder this further I heard the sounding of a large bell, I looked towards the town but found myself surrounded by a blue light, "W-What!?"

I closed my eyes, not sure what was happening as my world went bright...

...I opened my eyes once again to find myself back at the town square, but this time around it was different, I watched as people were being teleported to the place...everyone looked confused. I tried my best to piece together what was happening, "Huh...forced teleporting...Is there an announcement going on or something?" that was the only reason I could see forced teleporting players as necessary, it wasn't exactly something many people other than the devs were capable of so it must have been something important.

...That's when it all started, I hadn't noticed it at first but red hexagons began to spread across the sky, I believe that each said 'Special Announcement' or something along those lines. while everyone continued their chatter, trying to grasp what was happening, I watched as the sky started oozing a red substance from between the hexagons...this blood-like substance slowly started to build up in the sky before eventually it took a shape and form...

In the sky was a giant, red, robed figure...The face was completely shadowed out, a dark mist radiated from the opening of the hood.

Everyone stood in a mix of awe, fear, and confusion...several discussions were going on, I didn't listen to any of them...Right now, this hooded being was my only focus, the apparent 'Game Master'...the figure's silence finally ended, "Attention Players, I welcome you to my world." the figure stated, stretching it's arms out as though to give a...Hug...more likely, a greeting...

Just staring at this figure...For some reason, my stomach started to twist and knot...And the worst of it all was yet to come...

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><p>Well, sorry but I gotta end this hear.<p>

be sure to leave your thoughts and criticism, I hope to see you all next time.


	2. Chapter 2: Dementia

Hey guys, I started working on this the day after the original posting but I have been keeping my eyes out for anything that may need answering.

Raven- Don't worry, I understand why the mentioning of meeting a beta tester may seem...Off, but trust me when I say that I did this with full intention of making you all aware of their presence. You'll discover why soon enough. :3

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><p>Red hexagons began to spread across the sky, I believe that each said 'Special Announcement' or something along those lines. while everyone continued their chatter, trying to grasp what was happening, I watched as the sky started oozing a red substance from between the hexagons...this blood-like substance slowly started to build up in the sky before eventually it took a shape and form...<p>

In the sky was a giant, red, robed figure...The face was completely shadowed out, a dark mist radiated from the opening of the hood.

Everyone stood in a mix of awe, fear, and confusion...several discussions were going on, I didn't listen to any of them...Right now, this hooded being was my only focus, the apparent 'Game Master'...the figure's silence finally ended, "Attention Players, I welcome you to my world." the figure stated, stretching it's arms out as though to give a...Hug...more likely, a greeting...

Just staring at this figure...For some reason, my stomach started to twist and knot...And the worst of it all was yet to come...

"My name is Akihiko Kayaba, and as of this moment, I am in control of this world." this stirred up chatter in the crowd, right now they seemed...I guess it was a mix of being anxious yet calm, like they were waiting to see if there was really a reason to be scared right now, "I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menus, the log out button."

My eyes widened a little as I decided to look for myself, sure enough there was a blank place where the 'button' should have been. I shook a little before looking back up as the menu closed, "The fuck!?..." I asked under my breath.

The figure did the same thing that I had down, "Let me assure you, this is not a defect in the game, I repeat: This is not a defect." he stated calmly, demonstrating that the log out button didn't work, "This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be. You can not log yourselves out of SAO, and no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the NerveGear from your head. If anyone attempts to do so a transmitter inside the NerveGear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life."

I froze as time seemed to slow upon hearing those words, my arms and legs had unconsciously started shaking, *What...T-This has to be a joke right? But who the fuck could joke around about something like that, how could he talk so calmly about this shit!?* I could feel a fear rising in my body, my thoughts began to drift back towards my empty friend list as a chill ran down my spine, *...D-Don't even think that, it's...I-It's not possible!*

The voices around me started to grow agitated, I could see a couple trying to leave the area but were blocked by some form of force field. The figure seemed to give us time to let his words sink in, but soon he was back to talking again, "despite my warning, the families and friends of some of the players attempted to remove the NerveGear, an unfortunate decision to say the least." he stated, his tone not faltering through the entirety of his speech, "As a result, the game now has two hundred thirteen less players than when in began, they've been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world."

*T-Two hundred thirteen...D-Dead...Just because they decided to play a video game!?* I thought to myself, *What madness is this!?* I asked myself angrily, my hands forming fists as they shook.

As if sensing our disbelief, this 'Akihiko' began conjuring numerous screens around the figure he spoke through, "As you can see, international media outlets have around-the-clock coverage of everything, including the deaths, at this point it's safe to assume the likelihood of a NerveGear being removed is minimal at best." there were stories labelled as 'gaming accident claims victim' and images of crying families, needless to say they looked all to real, there were even more specific ones that proved his words, "I hope this brings you a little comfort as you attempt to clear the game."

*Clear the game...Clear the game...People have died because of this asshole and he wants us to play his fucking game!?* by this point my teeth were clenched as I glared daggers at the cloaked figure, *This guy...Just what kind of monster is he...He has us all hostages in 'his world', what's his angle, why!?* I wondered to myself, my frustration mounting...I had never felt so powerless in my life, I hated it so much.

"It's important to remember the following, there is no longer any way of reviving someone within the game." With those words I felt all of the frustration that I had built up leave me in one fell swoop...My eyes went wide as the tension building in my arms faded, "If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system, forever. And the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain."

With that all the noise around me became nothingness...I wasn't sure if it was just the shock, or if everyone else had gone as silent as I had...but I had a reason...

Everything froze, I couldn't even twitch...My eyes bulged in their sockets as the words repeated in my brain, bouncing around the inside of my cranium, *If you die...Y-You die for good...* my own voice stuttered, everything else had become nothing to me...The image of Yoshiki being killed by the boar replayed in my head...

My best friend...G-Gone...forever...

...And I insulted him...I watched...

I couldn't even feel tears forming, the shock was too great...I stood there, reduced to a statue. I could feel my legs give out as I crashed down to my knees, still staring up at the one responsible for the sorrow building inside of me, *...He's dead...I could...I-I could have saved him...* I thought to myself, *It's...I-It's all my fault...*

Everyone had experienced a similar shock, they were all stunned, petrified in place...And then he went on, still not caring, "There's only one way for a player to escape now, you must clear the game." he selected an option on his menu, bringing up an image of Aincrad, "Right now your gathered on floor one, the lowest level of Aincrad, if you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss you may advance to the next floor, defeat the boss on floor one hundred and you will clear the game."

...So in other words...We have been reduced from gamers to glorified lab rats, forced to run around in this maze of iron...

"Last but not least, I have placed a little present in the item storage of every player. Please, have a look." the figure instructed.

As much as i'd rather die than do what this asshole asks of me I realized that angering this 'Game Master' would only be a negative thing, still in my broken state I followed the instructions along with all the others, realizing that he wasn't asking...This was an order...

I opened my inventory to find what he had left, it was a mirror...*A...Mirror?* I asked myself. Curiosity getting the better of me, I selected the item to have it materialize in my hand...It was at least the size of an I Pad, the whole of what was meant to be held was a light gray and held the mirror in a rectangular shape...I stared blankly at the reflective surface, my eyes going wide as a blue light surrounded me once again...When I opened my eyes once again I found that I was staring back at myself...My real self in the mirror, just like I had right before getting that call from Yoshiki...

...Was he taunting me...No, this clearly wasn't aimed at me...yet it feels so much like an insult...This bastard...!

I growled as I dropped the mirror, shattering the offending item, a scowl growing on my face, *Calm...Calm thoughts...This has nothing to do with you, you aren't the center of the world, no, you just let your friend get killed, that's all!* I clutched my face with my right hand as I struggled to calm myself back down.

I looked around to see that others had also been changed, surely enough quite a few 'girls' turned out to be guys...if Yoshiki were here I would've said 'I told you so...'...I listened as they started bickering among themselves, people that had never met getting to see how they were 'actually' hanging out with...

I had slowly lifted myself back to my feet, my arms still limp at my sides, my eyes dark and dull...I stared up at the Game Master...No...He deserves no such title, I looked up at the Tyrant that had trapped us here...I knew that it was about to speak again, because apparently it just loved to hear the sound of it's own voice as it lorded over us like a bunch of sheep.

Surely enough, fuckin' predictable, the 'Shepherd' opened it's big mouth again, "right now, your probably wondering why...Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and NerveGear, do this?" the figure stated, "Ultimately, my goal was a simple one...The reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of my design. As you see, I have achieved my goal."

My hands balled up as tight as they could, I didn't care how much my 'muscles' hurt, I needed to vent before I did something I would regret...*So the Tyrant wants to play God, how fucking original...* I thought bitterly to myself, the words coming out as a venomous hiss.

"This concludes the end of the tutorial and the official launch of sword Art Online, Players, I wish you the best of luck." the digital figure began to collapse and break, crimson smoke pouring from it's body, it retreated into the cracks of the hexagons before they vanished, returning the sky to it's previous brilliance.

There was no noise, no one spoke for what felt like an hour...

I stared up at the spot that the developer had previously been, my blank expression betrayed by the chaos brewing within my mind as venom mixed with grief, *...Best of luck?...best of luck my ass!* I hissed in my mind, I knew full well what was going on around me as panic set in, the people around me began to shout as if their words mattered anymore, *We're stuck here...*

I knew that I was crying, paralyzed in the center of the madness that had consumed this place...

I wanted revenge...I wanted justice...I wanted...I wanted to see Yoshiki one last time...

I could feel tears rolling down my expressionless face, even still I didn't move, I didn't look away, *Yoshiki...I'll never get the chance to tell you this in person...But i'm so sorry...* I thought to myself, my inner voice cracked as it sounded the words out through my broken mind, *If I had just stepped in and helped...If I was a real friend you'd still be here...It's...It's His fault...*

My tone changed, becoming darker, scratchier...I knew that I was just shifting the blame, but I had to or else what was left of my mind would be torn to shreds...I was trapped in a game, my family and friends were worrying about me, my best friend was killed right in front of my while I just watched, and I myself could be killed by monsters or other players...It was all too much...I needed a scapegoat, and who better than the one that was responsible for it all...

I slowly reached up to push up my glasses to the bridge of my nose, *Kayaba...You'll get what you want...* I hissed quietly, *I'll let you play God for as long as i'm trapped here...But when I get out of here...And I **will** get out of here...I'm going to bury you under the corpses of everyone you killed with this game!*

I was about to push through the crowd when a hand gripped onto my right shoulder, I froze in place before turning to see it's owner...

The man was slightly taller than me, he had long, red hair that fell past his shoulders, deep, blue eyes that had an analytic gaze to them, white skin...His armer was slightly different from the standard, replacing the tunic under his chestplate with what looked like a sweater...His armor's color scheme consisted of the main color being a dark blue, the trim being a bright yellow...I recognized him...The Beta Tester from before...

His eyes looked...Sorrowful, "I saw you get ported here, alone..." he said, a quiet tone, barely detectable over the racket of the other players, "I...I'm sorry, Yoshiki was a friend of mine."

My eyes stared into his, darkened, my expression blank, "And if you were there with us, he'd still be here, is that what you wanted to say?" I hissed, not letting the anger out.

He looked towards the ground, "No one could've known, i'm sorry..." he stated, his fists clenched tightly.

I froze...this reminded me so much of...Me...

I could feel the sorrow and confusion overpowering the anger...My mind was a mix of different views, it was so hard to focus...I wanted to be angry...I wanted to cry...I wanted to mourn...Eventually I took a few deep breathes, letting myself calm down...

I looked back up to the man, still staring at his feet, "What are you apologizing for...I'm the one that watched him die..." I stated. He looked up as silence befell us, I stared into his eyes, feeling tired of this whole thing already, "But it's not our fault you know...It's Kayaba's..." I stated.

The man paused, "Yeah..."

A moment in silence passed as the man tried to figure out what was going through my mind, his gaze was measured, tamed...He was definitely better off than I was...I was...Was I crazy?

The man removed his hand from my shoulder, "Hey...I know that you must be angry, that you want revenge...But you can't just run off with your head clouded like that." he stated, "Please, come with me, we'll figure things out after you've had some time to think, alright?"

I blinked, I wasn't sure what to think about this...

But deep down I knew he was right...I was going to get myself killed if I just ran around blindly...I don't think that Yoshiki would want that...

Slowly I turned to face him, my gaze shifting to my feet, "Yeah...Alright..."

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><p>Well, that's one way to start things off, huh?<p>

If your wondering why Kajou started going all mental...Well, stress, grief, anger...That all together mixed with not really being good at managing his emotions makes for an interesting blend of crazy...But the question is if he's really insane or not, which i'll leave up for you to interpret in the coming chapters. Also if your wondering why he would join up with this Beta Tester, it's because he seems to have his head on straight while everyone else is still losing their minds, that and he knew Yoshiki...Essentially that was his way of stepping down and letting somebody fit for the job guide him since he was clearly not in a safe state of mind.

Hope that clears up any questions you might have, remember to leave a review if you want to leave any criticism or thoughts on the chapter, and I hope to see you next time. :)

*PS: I'm not sure how frequent i'll update, I was feeling anxious to get this chapter out so I figured that I would just post it and wait to work on the next a little later.*


	3. Chapter 3: Setting a Course

Grace of a Killer- Thanks for your input, sorry if Kajou's behavior came off as confusing, I don't think it will be much of a problem though, starting this chapter he'll probably have less trouble with his emotions. Also, as for the whole 'Cutlass' thing, I can't say for sure that I saw one used in the series, but in this case I think i'd count it as a long sword.

With that all said and done, let's get into the next chapter. :)

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><p>I sighed as I layed on the bed, I was in a room at the Inn, Ryuuji had brought me here not too long ago...Oh, that's the beta tester's name...<p>

I had calmed down, I still felt as though I were crying but I wasn't on the verge of mental collapse anymore...I knew I should probably be doing something right now, you didn't have to be a gamer to piece together that leveling up was going to be crucial in the situation that we've all found ourselves in, but my body felt like it was made of lead...I just didn't want to get up.

"Ryuuji, you can't be serious!" a male voice shouted from the other side of the door, "You heard him, if we die we DIE, there's no way you can seriously consider leaving the Town of Beginnings!"

I could hear a sigh in response, "Kira, listen." Ryuuji started, "I know that there's a lot of risk, and I get that your scared, but if we sit around here then we'll be left behind, forgotten." he stated calmly, "I refuse to just stand around and risk staying in here, we have to stronger or we may never see our families again."

I blinked as I remembered my own family...They must have been worried, especially with the news reports of people dying because of this game...I wanted out, I wanted to see them again...But the only way out was to get out there, risking death. I didn't want to die, but I can't just sit around...

"I...I know that..." Kira stated quietly, "But think about it, if we can just hold out until somebody else gets out-"

"And then what?" Ryuuji cut him off, his tone was cold, "I'm sure Kayaba hasn't been arrested, i'm sure that he won't be...Why would anyone trust a lone group or player that are the victims of an 'accident'? He probably set it up to where he can say whatever he wants here but looks innocent on the outside, if the police knew he was behind this then he would've been arrested and forced to get us out of here." he stated, "If we don't do things for ourselves we can't trust someone else to do it for us, that's why I won't sit idly by while others go out and die for what we might survive!"

I blinked as I sat up, there was an air of finality in that speech...Needless to say I felt oddly...Encouraged, like if I stuck with this guy I might actually get out of here.

Feeling blood coursing through my veins again I got up and made my way to the door, breaking the silence as I entered the small dining area. Ryuuji and Kira were sitting at the only table here, this whole place was essentially one room...It was just now that I got a good look at Kira. He was shorter than me, but he was more fit, his skin was also lightly tanned, his short, messy hair was a mix of red and black, and his blue eyes were nothing really special...Do I even need to explain his armor? I've only seen a handful of small differences here and there...But essentially he wore the same thing I wore but change the main color to a desert brown and make the secondary a dull grey, the only real difference was the fact he had a dagger instead of a sword.

I had drawn both of their attention as the door opened, I let my eyes scan the scene, "He's right you know...chances are that bastard told them this is all some bug, or an 'error'." I stated, "Besides, they'll just assume that the players have a grudge against the maker, if they don't know that he planned for this so he could play god then there's no way they'll believe 'Traumatized Players' who blamed Kayaba."

Ryuuji nodded, he then looked back to Kira, "See, that's precisely why our only hope of getting out is if we get out ourselves..." he sated, staring at him from across the table, "Kira, I won't make you come with us, but if we don't move soon we'll be left behind."

I pushed up my glasses as I shot a glance at Ryuuji, *Way to assume i'm joining you just because I agree with what you say...*

Kira blinked, he bit his lower lip as he looked back to Ryuuji, "Dude...I really don't like this..." he stated with a shaky voice, "I-I don't want to die man...But...I can't just give up either..."

Ryuuji stood up, staring down at Kira, "Who says you have to die?" he asked, "If we stick together we should be safe, all we have to do is get stronger." he stated confidently.

I leaned against the doorway, letting them talk this out, as I took in the main room...It was pretty big, it was also plainly obvious that this wasn't the standard Inn room, I was told that they were just one room and a bathroom, this one had four rooms and a bathroom...Could've been a player house...Maybe...

By the time I had looked back to the two friends they were both smiling, preforming some kind of best friend handshake, "Okay, I got your back." Kira stated, a little shakily mind you but he did say it, "I swear man, if we get out of here alive I will TOTALLY hook you up with my 'Sis!"

Ryuuji blushed slightly, leaning back in confusion, "H-Hey, you don't just say stuff like that!" I couldn't help but chuckle at this, accidentally drawing attention back to myself. The two of them stared at me, causing me to go silent...Did they forget I was even here? Ryuuji turned to face me, "So, you feeling any better?"

I was silent for a moment, eventually I nodded, "Yeah...But I still feel like shit..." I stated.

Ryuuji looked over at Kira before looking at me, "You know, your free to come with us." he stated, "We can manage the EXP between three players, so there's no reason not to join us."

I blinked as I looked towards the room's door, "Really, so what do you get out of this?" I asked, drawing a confused response from both of them, "You heard me, you have basically no clue who I am yet you trust me to help you and your friend? For all you know I could hold a grudge against you for not being there to help Yoshiki, as illogical as it sounds or not, and I may sit there while the same happens to you."

Ryuuji's frown deepened, "But you wouldn't, I may not know you but no one actually planning to do something like that would come out and announce their plan." he stated, "Besides, you were Yoshiki's friend, that's more than enough for me."

A moment of silence feel over the room as I let my glasses slide down the ridge of my nose, after what felt like an hour I finally broke that silence...

"...Your some kind of fuckin' saint aren't you?"

* * *

><p>So one way or another I had decided to join their party and I found us following a path towards the next city, I feel as though we're late compared to the others that had this same plan but hey, I guess it's whatever.<p>

We were in a plain-like zone, the same that Yoshiki and I had been grinding in when...Dammit, shut up me, just focus on getting to...

...I just realized that I had no clue where I was going..."Hey Ryuuji..." I started, grabbing both of my companion's attention, "Where are we going again?"

Ryuuji hadn't stopped his jog, "Horunka Village, it's just north of here." he stated as he brought up a map, surely enough it was Northwest of Starting City.

I nodded, "Oh, gotcha." I increased my pace to match theirs, "So, how far did you get in the beta?"

Ryuuji shot me a glance, a smile on his face, "Second floor, so I technically didn't get very far."

...Oh...That's helpful...

* * *

><p>Sorry, this is a short chapter, since I never saw the path to the village I wasn't sure how to describe it, or if there were monsters other than boars on the way there...So sadly I may resort to a time skip in the future chapter...<p>

Also, for anyone wondering, this isn't an AU, however our involvement with the actual characters will be quite limited. Trust me, I hardly plan on downplaying Kirito and the others, but i'm also not going to worship them either, thus the two parties will almost never be involved in each other's stories.

Hope to see you in the next chapter. :)


	4. Chapter 4: New Allies

I blinked, a blank expression on my face. Kira and Ryuuji stared back at me with questioning looks of their own, "Are you shitting me?" I asked, my tone empty, "We're supposed to help find the Boss so we can move on to floor 2, like several others have been **trying** to do, and your trying to get a date?"

Kira scratched the back of his head, "Well...It's not like the two are entirely unrelated." he stated, "I mean, if I have a lot to fight for i'll have more motivation to stay alive, right?"

I could feel my right eyebrow twitch before Ryuuji raised a hand, "I know that you must want to say something to combat this, but I for one support this decision." he stated, a small smile on his face, "He's fallen or a good woman, I have no doubt that she can bing out the best of him."

Kira smiled at Ryuuji and nodded at him as I facepalmed, "See Kajou, Ryuuji agrees with me!" he stated with a grin, "Maybe you should come along, i'm sure I could hook you up."

I removed my hand from my face to glare at him, "How about no, we've got bigger things to worry about than our hormones!" I hissed, "Look, you do whatever you want, but leave me out of it unless your getting serious."

With that I left the room, leaving the two staring at my back as I left.

Ryuuji frowned before sighing, "Well, looks like Kajou's as fun-loving as ever..." Ryuuji was honestly trying to raise the team's moral, and even after the time they've spent as a team he still had no clue how to talk with Kajou.

Kira scratched the back of his head, "I still don't get what the big deal is, I mean the more the merrier, right?"

Ryuuji shrugged, "We haven't really known him long enough to get how he thinks, we may never know his reasoning." he stated. Following this he leaned over and patted Kira on the shoulder, a smile on his face, "Look, don't worry about it too much, just go have fun."

Kira hesitantly nodded, "What about you, what about Kajou?" he was honestly concerned, thinking of Kajou as one of his friends by now.

Ryuuji paused for a moment, "Don't worry about me, as for Kajou..." he thought over his options, honestly he could probably leave him be for now, he was reckless at times but he was far from stupid. Eventually Ryuuji shrugged, "I'll go speak with him, who knows, I may be able to figure something out." he said with a hopeful tone, *Maybe...If he's willing to cooperate...Yeah, i'm not going to learn anything, am I?*

Kira blinked a couple of times before smiling and standing up, "Alright, thanks Ryuuji." he waved goodbye to his friend before leaving him to his own devices.

Ryuuji paused in thought for a moment or two before sighing, opening his menu, "Well, here goes nothing..." he prepared a message for Kajou, "Hey Kajou, if you've got time to talk you should meet me at the meeting area, don't worry, it's nothing serious."

With that he sent the message and waited, about a minute later he got a response. He opened the message and the text read, "Alright."

Ryuuji blinked, his smile had become a frown, "One word, huh?" he grimaced, "Why does something tell me this won't end well?..."

* * *

><p>I sighed as I sat on the stone seats, the meeting grounds essentially looked kinda like a Colosseum, it even had a few pillars...Columns...Whatever. Eventually I looked over to the sound of footsteps to see Ryuuji walking down the stone steps, his hands in his pockets, a small smile on his face.<p>

"Hey Kajou, I thought i'd try to figure you out a little." he stated truthfully, trying his best to look friendly.

I blinked, almost instantly analyzing his intent, "Look, if it's about earlier just know that it has nothing to do with Kira." he sat down next to me, embedding his elbows into his knees, "I just don't want to get involved in stuff like that, it never turns out well." I answered honestly, looking towards the center of the 'arena'.

Ryuuji frowned slightly, "I guess you don't want me to pry into that, huh?" he asked, my silence confirming that statement, "Kajou, you don't have to do anything that you don't want to, just know that we're trying...I know that you want to get out of here, we all do, but we can't constantly rush into battle." he stated sternly, "I know that these breaks must annoy you, that we haven't always seen eye-to-eye on the decisions of the group, but we all deal with what we're given in different ways...All I can ask is that you tolerate our ways until we get out of here, then you won't have to deal with us anymore."

I paused and considered that, he had a point...We were stuck in here, we were stuck in here together, meaning that we had to deal with each other or we'd fail...But it also meant something he didn't even think of...Alone I would be nothing, I **had** to stay with them, I **had** to tolerate them and their ways...Otherwise I wasn't getting out of here.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, "Look, I know I may seem annoyed...But I don't hate you guys, or your views on things." I tried to explain, "I'm just not easy to deal with, I like moving at my own pace...Doing my own thing."

Ryuuji paused, thinking out what to say next, eventually he nodded, "I understand, don't worry...We'll have to get out there eventually, how else will we get out of this game?" he asked with a grim smile. There was a pause before eventually I nodded, Ryuuji smiled, "Thanks for understanding, i'm sure that Kira would be happy too."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh there's another reason he's happy, and it has nothing to do with us..." I stated dryly, but curiosity did make me wonder what this girl he had fallen for looked like.

Ryuuji laughed and slapped me on the back, "You act like this wouldn't make him any happier, things like this stack you know." he stated, eventually he got up, "Well, i'm glad we had this chat, you coming back?"

I chuckled, "Of course not, i'm not going to sit around that Inn all day, I have a life you know." With that I got up and walked up the steps, leaving Ryuuji staring at me in confusion, "See ya." I said with a wave.

Ryuuji was silent for a moment before blinking, "Kajou has a life, huh?" he asked himself, "Wonder what that's supposed to mean." he shrugged before going up the steps, ready to return to the Inn, "Heh, maybe I should get a life too."

* * *

><p>I groaned as I left Tolibana's amphitheater I had noticed something, looking at my friends list I discovered I was still behind my goal for the boss fight...I wanted to be at least level fifteen to be safe but presently I was only at fourteen, Ryuuji and Kira were in the same boat...<p>

I bit my lower lip as I proceeded down a road my hands in my pockets, *Damn...I don't care if they think we're safe just because we'll have numbers on our side, we should be grinding to guarantee our safety!* I hissed to myself. The more I looked at my EXP bar the more my thoughts focused on it, I stared at it blankly before coming to a decision, *...One more mission and i'll level up...* I thought to myself, deciding to look around for any that haven't been taken.

I wandered around for a little, looking for a mission with a decent payoff...I found a number of quests but unfortunately they recommended at least one other party member, being as cautious as I was I decided that even being a level fourteen I didn't want to risk it...I was basically about to give up when I heard the distinct sound of arguing...

"But Yusuki, if we don't get stronger how are we supposed to clear the game?" a girl asked, trying her best not to sound agitated.

I looked over to see the two girls arguing, they had been doing so between two buildings.

The first I noticed was the girl that I had heard, she had a long, black ponytail that ended at her waist, white skin, her eyes were bright orange, and she looked relatively well built...By which I mean she looked fit but flat, that and she was...A little shorter than me, don't ask how I could tell from this distance. She wore a brown, leather tunic with no right sleeve but a detached left sleeve, over that was a silver breastplate, which in all honesty looked more like a shield over her torso...Or part of it at least...a silver pauldron covered her left shoulder, her leather pants appeared baggier than they should be, they looked more like cargos, under them were silver greaves that protected her legs, and guarding her forearms were silver gauntlets. What had caught my attention, however, was that she had a sword and shield, which were both sheathed on her back, the shield covering the sword like a scabbard.

The other girl had her arms crossed, she was also frowning, she had long, bleached white hair, brown eyes, her skin was slightly tanned and I could tell indefinitely that she was taller than me. she wore armor that appeared slightly heavier than the other girl's, most of it consisting of metal pieces, she looked like a knight in heavy armor...it was mainly the same color as steel, but the trimming of it was golden, the most striking aspect was the symbol of the ram on her pauldrons, suggesting that she either made the armor or was in a guild. I then noticed her back...More specifically the large war hammer strapped to it.

The taller girl, Yusuki, looked at the smaller girl with a disappointed expression, "Tetsero, I know that leveling up is important but it wouldn't be fair to just leave without Yuki, especially while she's out on a date." the girl stated, an air of authority in her tone, "I promise that once she returns we'll head out, but until then I can't just leave."

The smaller girl, Tetsero, groaned before shifting her gaze to the ground, her hand tightening into a fist. After what felt like a full minute the girl sighed, "Fine..." she stated blankly, agitation clear on her face.

Yusuki paused for a moment before nodding and walking off, leaving the girl to deal with her frustration.

I blinked as I stared at this girl, her situation seemed eerily similar to my own..."Oi..." a voice sounded, snapping me out of it, "You shouldn't stare at people, it's fucking creepy." The girl stated, glaring at me.

I returned her glare, my hands in my pockets, "I wasn't staring, I was thinking, there's a difference." I stated, an agitated tone, *Besides, it's not like there's much to stare at.* my thoughts added, I mentally slapped myself for that.

Tetsero seemed to notice the agitation in my tone, "What's the difference, it's still creepy to just watch someone like you were!"

I could feel my right eyebrow twitch, it was like this girl was **trying** to start a fight with me, "Well excuse me for being in your presence, I should be out there leveling up but instead i'm getting into a verbal debate with you." I hissed.

The girl froze for a moment, "Your with that Kira guy, aren't you?" she asked, her tone dropping slightly.

I nodded, "Yes, and I guess we both can't do anything because of him for some reason, right?" I asked, trying to figure out why I was even still here. Tetsero seemed to calm down a little, her shoulders dropping slightly, "So that means that girl he's dating right now is in your group, correct?"

Tetsero blinked before nodding, "Yeah, pretty much..." her arms crossed over her chest, she still looked a little annoyed but it didn't look like she was about to snap, "...You get ditched too?" she asked out of the blue.

I shook my head, "I wouldn't say him and Kira ditched me, but I can't exactly drag Ryuuji off." I stated, "So essentially i'm stuck here, like you."

A moment of silence fell over us, we seemed to be trying to figure the other out in this time...Not talking, just staring and blinking, waiting for either to fill the silence with further conversation...It felt like a contest to see who could go the longest without talking.

Eventually I caved, sighing, "Anyway, we both need to level up, right?" I asked, not as annoyed with my 'companion'. Tetsero just blinked, "We could both do a mission, get it out of the way, and then come back and regroup with the others." I suggested.

Tetsero was silent for a moment before she marched up to me, glaring into my eyes with a serious expression, "I'll go...But we split the EXP, the Loot, and the money...Deal?" she asked, if a tone of voice could kill...Needless to say she was serious about this.

I blinked before nodding, "I don't have a problem with that..." stated. Silence fell over us again, but it was much more awkward given the lack of distance, "Uh...So who'll be the leader?"

Tetsero blinked, all seriousness leaving her face...Apparently she hadn't thought of this, in fact she looked almost confused...Eventually she opened her menu and sent the party invite. I accepted it and instantly her eyes wandered to the location of my bar, and almost as instantly she was dumbfounded...I could see why, while I was a level fourteen she was only a level eleven.

When I looked back to her face I saw her glaring at me again, but her eyes were...Different, almost as if they had lightning coursing through them, "How?!" she asked.

I stepped back, maintaining a blank face while laughing on the inside, "Wouldn't you like to know?" I asked with a smile, this seemed to ruffle her a little, "Ryuuji, Kira, and I did a lot of stuff, that's how." I answered honestly.

Tetsero frowned before her eyebrow rose, "Whatever, let's just get going."

With that my companion walked past me, I followed shortly afterwards.

* * *

><p>Yay for friendship!...If you can call it that, I suppose this is more like a one-sided rivalry. :P<p>

Anyway, that's chapter 4, I hope you enjoyed and i'll see you next time.


	5. Chapter 5: A New Friend

You would think that one mission would be a simple challenge, yes?...Think again...

"Dammit Kajou, stop charging without me!" Tetsero shouted, her voice was so loud I wouldn't be surprised if somebody heard it in the town of beginnings. We were deep in a forested area, there was a group of Wolf-like monsters, three regulars and one alpha, "Do you know anything about team synergy!?" she scolded as she caught up with me.

"Yes, and I distinctively recall giving the signal to attack!" I hissed at her before using my Charge skill to damage one of the lesser wolves, Tetsero groaned as she did the same, but hitting a different wolf. I shot her a glare, "The hell was that?"

Tetsero smirked, "Oh i'm sorry, you didn't give the order to do a joint attack.~" she stated in a cheeky manner.

The wolves turned and started to come at us, the two of us braced ourselves, trying to figure out the best course of action, *The Charge skill is on cooldown so that isn't an option, we could try to dodge or parry but there are three of them, one of us is really likely to get hit by the third one with some kind of follow-up...* I thought to myself. I was about to give an order when I saw Tetsero charging them i return, running towards the wolf she had weakened, "H-Hey, are you nuts!?" I shouted before following her lead.

The competitive girl groaned, "No, i'm actually using my brain!" she shot back.

She raised her shield as she ran towards the wolves, a dangerous glint in her eyes, before I could really figure out a way to figure out the situation I watched as tetsero's shield began to glow. She picked up speed before crashing into the injured wolf, sending it flying, but it was still alive with 6% of it's health left. Immediately the other weak wolf was on her, she managed to block the attack with ease but the smirk was wiped off her face as the larger wolf jumped off the back of the other, damaging it slightly, as it lunged at Tetsero, who braced herself or the damage she was about to receive.

I growled as I increased my pace, light engulfing my cutlass before I struck the flying beast in the side with a powerful, overhead slash. The beast took a good percentage of damage but it had two health bars, so naturally it wasn't anything grand, but it was damage at least. Before I realized it I felt something like a breeze behind me, I turned my head slightly to see the wolf that had been blocked go flying, when I turned back around I saw the other weakened wolf quickly running towards me, the larger wolf still recovering from my previous attack, I was about to block when suddenly in blurred movement Tetsero was standing in front of me, she blocked the blow with ease.

She shot me a glance over her shoulder before stabbing her blade forwards, impaling the wolf and causing it to explode into data.

I looked towards the other lesser wolf, "You take that one, I got the big guy!" she stated. She groaned when I narrowed my eyes at her, "I mean i'll hold it off, you ass!" she snarled.

I nodded at her before refocusing on the recovering wolf, I quickly ran at it, noticing my approach it seemed as though it was about to pounce but as it lunged at me my sword emitted it's aura again as I lunged forward, running the beast through and causing it to explode in the air. By the time I turned around I saw the large wolf swing at Tetsero, pushing her back, she grunted as she dug the bottom of the shield into the ground to anchor her down and keep from sliding too far.

I quickly ran back towards them, sliding as I jumped to Tetsero's right, as I slid towards the beast, which was focused on Tetsero, I stabbed into it's side, cutting into the beast as it ran past, knocking it down to it's final bar of health. I quickly spun around as the weakened wolf's attack was parried by Tetsero's shield, She stabbed the beast in the neck before bashing it with the shield, knocking it away.

Now I was behind the wolf, a few feet away, and Tetsero was in front of it at a similar distance, our eyes locked before the two of us charged, Tetsero running to it's right, me towards it's left, within moments we both pulled our sword arms back and lunged, swinging in unison as our pincer maneuver cleaved the large wolf in two, causing it to detonate soon afterwards.

Surely enough that was all it took, the both of us leveled up respectively to our next level. I grinned to myself, "Yeah, finally level fifteen." I stated, proud of myself. I turned to see Tetsero glaring at me, likely mad because she was behind, "Level twelve is nice though." I stated, not resisting the urge to mess with her.

She growled as her face tuned red with anger, "Don't push it you bastard!" I couldn't help but laugh to myself, causing her face to glow even more red. She then focused on where the wolf had been, "So, who get's the drop?" she asked, frustration still in her tone.

I looked over towards it, not laughing anymore, eventually I responded, "Take it." I stated, causing her to look at me, surprised, "What, you said we're splitting the loot, and I probably have something better already." I stated confidently.

She blinked, freezing a few seconds before nodding and walking over to the drop, picking it up to reveal a crude, curved blade. It's body was mainly comprised of a dark, green metal, it had numerous black markings across the blade and hilt to separate layers of the blade from other layers, and it's blade looked as though it was solid gold.

She grinned at her prize, apparently happy with it's design, "So cool!~..." she whispered to herself...But her tone was...Different, it wasn't as deep as usual, and her eyes weren't nearly as tough or cold as she tried to keep them.

I couldn't help but smirk, "So that's the real you?" I asked smugly.

Almost immediately she jumped, a blush spreading across her face from embarrassment, "H-Huh!?" she asked before glaring at me, "T-The hell's that supposed to mean!?"

I chuckled at her embarrassment, she was trying so hard to look tough again, "Oh, it doesn't mean anything." I stated before breaking out into laughter.

Tetsero practically lunged at me, grabbing me by the collar, she gave me a death glare as her face got brighter, "Stop fucking laughing, it's not funny!" she shouted as she shook me, slowly getting angrier by the second, "I'm fucking serious, **you will tell NO ONE!**" she snarled, angry that she wasn't being taken seriously.

* * *

><p>With steam practically pouring from Tetsero's ears the two of us split the group, we had turned in the mission and split the reward evenly, though it was nothing grand, just some Cor and a little experience.<p>

I rubbed the back of my head as I stared at the back of her head, she was fuming, her arms crossed over her chest, "Hey, come on, it's not like I insulted your family or something." I stated dryly, trying to salvage the situation, "Sorry I laughed, really."

Not sure why I even cared, I hated dealing with competitive people like her...

Much to my surprise she turned around, her eyes were still narrow and her cheeks were puffed slightly, "Hey...Thanks for helping me level up..." she stated, "I'm sorry if I came across as...Bitchy..." she looked away as she stated this, as if trying to avoid eye contact, "But...I hope we can be friends..."

I blinked, this was almost a complete 180 from her usual attitude...Well, as far as I knew anyway..."Eh, where's this coming from?" almost immediately she was glaring at me again, I raised my hands defensively, "Hey, I didn't say no!" I stated, "Yeah, I hope we can be friends too."

A moment of silence passed before Tetsero scrolled through her menu and sent me a friend invite, I accepted it though I was still confused.

"I...I have trouble when it comes to dealing with people." she stated, her arms crossed again, "People just piss me off sometimes, because of that they usually just ignore me and leave me alone...So...T-Thanks for sticking around!" she stated, blurting that last bit out as if embarrassed to be admitting it, her face turned a familiar shade of red but she kept her 'tough-act face'.

Before I could say anything in response Tetsero took off running, her face turning even more red from embarrassment as each second passed.

I stared as she vanished, eventually blinking in confusion, *Wow...Somebody that's even worse at socializing than me, who would've thought i'd meet them myself?* I thought to myself before snapping out of it, *You know...Maybe Tetsero's not so bad.*

Almost immediately I focused my attention on getting back to the Inn, to see Ryuuji and Kira to tell them about what happened today, after all, he was probably back from his date by now.


End file.
